i will burn my dread

[miseris_socios]

Who: Everyone!
What: Welcome to the Dark Hour!
Where: In the Strega warehouse.
Warnings: Possible blood and gore, Persona 3/general SMT-level disturbing topics, possible violence (knowing this group). Will edit if needed.


[When he first wakes up, Ken finds himself lying on a bed. That in itself isn't so unfamiliar, but this one has dents where it should, the shape of a small body pressed into it over weeks and months, and the sheets are soft and scratchy in just the right places and -]

[Oh no. He sits up and pulls himself out of bed, reaching almost automatically for Koromaru but... he's not there. Of course not. He'd been expecting the Tower, but this is worse, because they're not here because this is his Heart, not theirs, and because -]

[No. He has to think of what to do. He grabs the dangpa that Shinjiro made him and the copy of Gae Buidhe that Diarmuid gave him, strapping them onto his back. He needs to stay defended in this place, no matter what - the last Heart taught him that much.]

[The familiar pressure of the Dark Hour doesn't bother him, but it's worrying. It should be gone now. They won. It's over. Even in his Heart, it shouldn't be around. But it is, and there's a brief flare of panic before -]

[No. He needs to get going. The puzzles aren't going to find themselves.]

Comments

[worldkeys]

[ The beast will hear this and lurch in that direction after him. It seems hellbent to try to get him. ]

[800isenough]

[Well SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER!! There's no Liao down that corridor! Instead, there's that dagger he grabbed earlier, still quivering from the force of being flung at the wall so hard that it's embedded in the stone.

And thanks for exposing your back! Because SURPRISE RAID MOTHERFUCKER!! Or rather, it's a potshot with Liao hurling that short sword he grabbed earlier at the back of the creature's head, sharp end aimed to split the skull, if it had one. He was hiding behind a different intersection, just two turns down, and was waiting for the creature to announce its presence!

But his intention, although the blow is by right a killing one if the Reaper were a normal human. Hoping that the short sword would serve as a distraction at the very least, he's already sprinting backwards and retracing his previous footsteps, following the notches back to the entrance of the labyrinth!]

[worldkeys]

[ The attack lands. Unfortunately, given The Reaper is a force of Death itself, and therefore undead, it does little more than slow it down. The Reaper has to spend some time picking the weapon out of its... er... bleeding head-sack (you don't want to know what's in there, trust us), and it has decided it has had quite enough of this.

It figures he must be headed one of two ways--down or up. It has realized by now you made some nicks in the lovely Thebel walls, by the by, Liao, and is going to follow them try to follow you at a much accelerated pace, this time. Large beams of light and strange spell circles coupled with slips of paper will begin to appear just behind him on the floor. If this hits, it's going to knock him out instantly. ... Let's hope he finds the stairs soon. ]

[800isenough]

[Oh come on, give him a break here! What use is a warrior of the Three Kingdoms if he can't hack and slash his way through his enemies?

But fine, whatever. The distraction worked long enough for Liao to reach the foot of the stairs, just narrowly avoiding the column of light behind him. Although it's irritating that he can't take down his opponent, this threat has got his blood pumping and the adrenaline flowing. Relishing the thrill of a dangerous situation, he feels the most alive he's been since he's entered the Alice Worlds, and that's good enough fuel to have him tearing up at the staircase.]

[worldkeys]

[ Now there's the ever-important question of which way they're going, isn't there? Once he makes it fully down the stairs, if he's heading up them, to the Infirmary, the Reaper's pursuit of him will cease.

But if he ends up on another Tartarus floor, no such thing will happen. It will not follow him down the stairs in that event, instead choosing to manifest inside the next Floor somewhere, as if placed there by magic. Which, well, it was. ]

[800isenough]

[Good lord no more of Tartarus please. He can bear that heavy oppressive atmosphere? But he'd rather not. Up to the infirmary it is to bring back the Cat's clue to the group.]

[worldkeys]

[ The Reaper will continue to prowl the lower floors looking for any remaining stragglers.

Liao has chosen wisely. ]